Hon Chair of the session, hon chairperson of the portfolio committee, Members of Parliament, board members and CEOs of public entities, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, and colleagues in the House, we are presenting our Budget Vote speech during an important month in the history of the development of our country and, indeed, our democratic society. The month of April is a month when we celebrate freedom and democracy in our country. In particular, this year, we are celebrating 17 years of the progress we are making in building one South African nation, united in its diversity. This is a society envisaged by those visionaries who many years ago, in 1955, declared that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white.
April is also historic in that it is the month in which we remember those gallant fighters of our liberation struggle, Chris Hani, Oliver Tambo and Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, who passed on during this month. As we celebrate and remember these milestones in the history of our country, we must not lose sight of our historic mission: To build a united, democratic, nonracial, nonsexist and prosperous society.
We are presenting this budget on Water Affairs, fully aware of the responsibility that we carry as a department. Indeed, it is a responsibility to contribute to the national effort to build a more just and equal society, focused on the creation of more and sustainable decent job opportunities. This is the vision that our President, Jacob Zuma, so eloquently articulated during the state of the nation address this year.
Guided by this vision, we as the Department of Water Affairs during this financial year will work together with the people of South Africa to make more water available for economic growth and the creation of decent jobs, as the President has said.
As we stand here today to solicit, among other things, your endorsement and support of this Budget Vote of Water Affairs, the world's population stands at 6,8 billion and is increasing at about 83 million people every year. Just as alarming as this increasing rate is the rate at which natural resources, upon which all life depends, are dwindling. In our own country of about 50 million people, we are facing the challenge of freshwater scarcity, which is exacerbated by the growing demand for freshwater, the pollution of sources of water, wastage and unsustainable usage.
We have no option but to change our behaviour and attitudes towards water use as part of our ongoing endeavour to build sustainable livelihoods for the people. Indeed, if we do not change the way we use our water resources, our ability to meet the objectives of the New Growth Path, key among them being the creation of decent jobs, will not be achieved. Without water, we will struggle to meet the energy-generation capacity that we need for economic growth. Without water, the agricultural sector's ability to create jobs and provide food security for our country will be severely curtailed. The mines and factories that must contribute to economic growth and employment creation will not survive.
Therefore, we have a collective responsibility proactively to protect our water resources, to prevent them from being contaminated, and to use our water resources efficiently to ensure their sustainable availability for the benefit of all our people. One of the imperatives for economic growth and job creation is infrastructure development. In this regard, as a department, we are very proud of the work we are doing to improve water infrastructure in our country. You will be pleased to note that the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, TCTA, has procured funding in order to implement the Mokolo and Crocodile River West Water Augmentation Project, MCWAP, phases one and two, with a total cost of about R2 billion, in order to deliver water to Eskom's new Medupi Power Station and other industries in the area, as well as ensuring that we have water for domestic use in the Lephalale Local Municipality. About 75% of this phase will be funded by off-budget sources, while the remainder will come from our budget. We expect the first water delivery in 2014.
In KwaZulu-Natal on the Mooi River near Rosetta, we have already awarded a R2,2 billion contract for the construction of the 42 metre-high Spring Grove Dam with a storage capacity of 142 million cubic metres. Work will commence shortly and we expect the first water delivery in November next year.
In the same vein, we will be spending R91,2 million in this financial year to raise the Hazelmere Dam, in order to augment the water supply to Umgeni Water for treatment and supply purposes to the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast in the areas of Mdloti and Thukela.
The construction of the De Hoop Dam and its associated distribution systems to deliver water for domestic and agricultural use in the Greater Sekhukhune, Waterberg and Capricorn District Municipalities is on course. The estimated cost for completing the construction of the De Hoop Dam, which began in 2007, is approximately R3,1 billion. Of this amount, R2,1 billion had been spent up to the 2010-11 financial year, and R926 million will be spent over the next three years to complete the dam. The distribution network will be constructed concurrently with the completion of the dam.
This will deliver water for domestic use to a total of three million Limpopo residents. During this financial year, we will commission the construction of a water conveyance system from the Vaal Dam to Secunda to augment the water supply to Eskom power stations and Sasol. This comprises abstraction works, a storage reservoir, a high-lift pump station, and a 121- kilometre pipeline.
In addition to the infrastructure development that is currently under way, we are also finalising, planning and preparing for the construction of other dams and related infrastructure. We have to begin those plans now, even though we will be talking about implementation next year on some of them.
These include the completion of a water treatment works and bulk distribution system from Nandoni Dam in Limpopo - and we have to finish that pipeline and, indeed, it is just about to be completed. With regard to planning and preparing for the construction of other dams and related infrastructure, there is the construction of a pipeline from the Flag Boshielo Dam to Mokopane and nearby communities; the completion of feasibility studies and designs of the Umzimvubu and Foxwood Dams in the Eastern Cape; the construction of the bulk distribution pipelines and reticulation networks from the Jozini Dam in KwaZulu-Natal as well as the Groot Letaba Augmentation Project, consisting of the raising of the Tzaneen Dam, the finalisation of the plans of the construction of the N'wamitwa Dam and the associated water treatment plants and bulk distribution pipelines.
We are well advanced with negotiations for a joint agreement with the government of Lesotho for the implementation of the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, LHWP, which will augment the Vaal River system that supplies water to Gauteng and the surrounding areas. This is scheduled for completion in 2020 - long-term vision and planning.
All this work is intended to improve our water infrastructure in our country and is in line with our overall commitment to making sure that we grow our economy. South Africa is, arguably, a water-scarce country. It has low rainfall and has one of the lowest run-offs in the world. I must emphasise that this phenomenon is not unique to South Africa.
Some prophets of doom have sent the wrong signals in that Gauteng will run out of water by 2013, 2014 or 2015. As the Minister responsible for water, I want to assure the hon members and South African citizens that if we manage our water resources well and use water judiciously, there will be no imminent shortage of water. That we can do, I dare say.
Our current projections are that South Africa will, in all probability, exceed the limits of our economically usable land-based water resources by 2050. But our department is working on innovative measures to ensure that there will be clean water for human consumption and for future generations. We admit that there are real and significant challenges with regard to water management in our country. It is in this regard that we have already begun to think creatively about different ways of preserving and protecting this precious resource.
Factors such as climate change and the increasing population growth lead to an increase in water consumption and continue to be challenges. Educating the general public on water conservation continues to be highly imperative. Thus, we have begun with campaigns aimed at raising levels of awareness about water conservation and encouraging our communities to become leaders of a movement that will wage war against water wastage.
We have also begun engaging in the task of desalinating sea water into freshwater. We have already started this work in the Western Cape, and we intend doing this in other coastal towns to augment the water supply for domestic use. In December 2009, we completed a desalination plant in Sedgefield. In June last year, we completed a wastewater recycling facility in George. We have already secured the supply of water for the Eden District through desalinated water from the Mossel Bay, Sedgefield and Bitou plants.
Groundwater remains a very important source of water which has not been fully exploited by our country. I am pleased to announce that we have already started to implement a strategy aimed at exploiting our underground water resources. Elements of this strategy include training and supporting municipalities with groundwater management tools, publishing the National Groundwater Archive, NGA, and supporting municipalities with the implementation of artificial recharge, where feasible, to secure water for later use.
During this financial year, we will focus on the monitoring of groundwater resources, especially acid mine drainage, transboundary aquifer systems, climate variability and municipality systems. Collectively, these interventions will go a long way towards making more water available to allow our country to pursue the strategic objective of growing the economy and creating more jobs. We will also continue working with local government to assist them in dealing with the challenges related to water provision.
The bulk infrastructure programme we alluded to earlier, which is provided by our Department of Water Affairs, needs to be integrated with water infrastructure that is provided by the water services authorities, which are municipalities working under the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta.
The water services authorities have been experiencing difficulties in linking reticulation infrastructure to the bulk infrastructure. This challenge, in many instances, has left communities without water for household consumption while the pipelines pass though such communities. In reviewing this practice, which had unintended consequences, we have adopted a new approach of water provision with the concomitant infrastructure from "source to tap". This requires joint planning and execution similar to our approach during the Fifa World Cup. It is not difficult; it is doable.
This we will do to give practical meaning to our commitment to co-operative governance across all spheres of government. Specifically, we will continue to work with municipalities to address challenges, such as effluent discharge into rivers and streams, ageing water infrastructure at municipal level, the state of wastewater treatment works and skills development.
Indeed, the service delivery agreements we have signed with the President of the Republic attest to the need for all spheres of government to complement each other in the execution of our collective mandates. We are pleased to report that thus far we have worked well together to build capacity at local government level in the area of water quality management through our Green Drop and Blue Drop Certification programmes.
The continual consultative audits conducted as part of the Green Drop Certification programme have ensured that local authorities are capacitated on the strategic elements required for effective wastewater management. The introduction of the targeted Risk-based Regulation also ensures that all municipalities are informed about the site-specific risks posed to their wastewater operations, with tangible targets set for improved planning.
This Risk-based Regulation was augmented by a global first innovation to develop a Wastewater Risk Abatement Planning process, which is currently being peer-reviewed by the Water Research Commission and will be rolled out as soon as the peer review is complete. This will create a new pre-emptive paradigm for wastewater service management.
We are currently using this system within the Hartbeespoort Dam catchment area to ensure an improvement at source of the effluent being discharged into contributing tributaries. We are also grateful for the commitment of the municipal wastewater treatment management in the City of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Mogale City and Randfontein in improving wastewater processing through the introduction of this system.
In another important development, the cities of Cape Town and eThekwini adopted this process voluntarily since they saw the enormous benefit that such an approach would bring to their wastewater management approach. We also deployed the emergency response facility as informed by the Green Drop regulatory processes. In this regard, I am also pleased to announce that we will host the 3 Third Municipal Water Quality Conference between 28 June and 30 June this year in Cape Town. This conference will bring together all people who are knowledgeable in this regard - practitioners dealing with water, as well as the municipalities and government sectors throughout the country.
We are also implementing the Accelerated Community Infrastructure Programme whose purpose is to assist with the refurbishment of wastewater-related infrastructure at local government level. Going forward, we will introduce new regulations for process controlling, which incorporates mandatory training for all water and wastewater process controllers. This we will do with the objective of enhancing and professionalising water and wastewater treatment skills.
In line with our commitment to the principle of co-operative governance, we will this year adopt an integrated approach to water provision. In terms of this approach, we will work together with water services authorities in the metros, district municipalities and local municipalities to provide an unbroken chain of water supply from source to tap and to ensure the sustainability of our water usage.
We are doing all of these things to realise and ensure that we increase the capacity of local government to deliver more services to our people. We are certain that the issue of water quality in our country is a matter that should be taken very seriously. Government is determined to provide the best quality water in line with acceptable standards. In this regard, we note with appreciation that the Blue Drop Certification process continues to be used effectively for water quality management.
In August 2010, the drinking water inspectorate of the United Kingdom assisted us in creating greater awareness of the World Health Organisation's relatively new concept of water safety planning. Today in South Africa, through the implementation of water safety plans, about 150 water supply systems comply with this new approach.
We are also pleased to report that working together with municipalities, we have initiated various capacity-building programmes in preparation for the Blue Drop audits that are currently under way. The report will be finalised now, in April, and will be released in June this year. We applaud the commitment with which municipal officials are preparing for these audits. To us this indicates an improved understanding of the importance of effective drinking water quality management and greater respect for and credibility of our regulatory role as a department.
This development, in terms of the good reception of the Blue Drop Certification process, proves the assertion that our drinking water compares favourably with the best in the world. Once again we call on South Africans to contribute towards upholding this standard by not polluting our rivers, streams and sources of water.
We look forward to hosting the conference we spoke about, and to hosting the Fourth Meeting of the International Network of Drinking-Water Regulator for 20 member countries in Cape Town later this year. The network will allow us to showcase our home-grown regulatory approach, showcased here outside. We would also like to show that to the developed world.
Last year we reported that our compliance monitoring and enforcement capacity was increased when a total number of 14 water management inspectors were recruited. They now stand at 21. In this respect, we have been able to give 141 predirectives and 26 directives. Four of those directives have been resolved positively and 25 cases are currently before the courts.
Our vigilance and water compliance efforts have revealed unlawful water use of the Vaal River system. About 244 cubic metres of water per annum is unlawfully withdrawn from the Vaal River system, depriving legal users of their legitimate use.
With regard to acid mine drainage, work that needs to be done as delegated and decided by Cabinet, includes, amongst other things, the enforcement of sections 19 and 20 of the National Water Act to follow up on the polluters of water in the Witwatersrand mining area. As government, we have rightfully undertaken to rehabilitate and clean up the water in partnership with a few mining houses. There are three good mining houses. Thank you, mining houses, for working with us. We will continue to apply the polluter- pays principle without fear or favour.
With regard to the issue of legislation, as part of ensuring that we make more water available to people for economic growth in this financial year, we will review the law.